Saint and Sinners Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

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The building with the sign that read “Gemini” was pocketed between a shopping complex and another occupied by a telecommunication giant whose sign lit up the night’s sky; both buildings were quiet, dark and deserted now a contrast to a couple of hours before when both buildings were alive with activities, now they slept while Gemini played host to night revelers. Somehow it reminded Rebecca of the circle of life; whilst one child was born, someone, somewhere was dying.

The nice air was crisp and cold; the sky was bathed in the luminescent glow of stars, the serenity of the night sky seemed a stark contrast to the buzz of the evening activities, it was a synergy of organized chaos, as the sounds of the traffic, people and night animals blended into one seamless noise.

As they drew closer to Gemini, the muffled sound of music reached them, standing in front of the main entrance of the club five heavily built men dressed in black suits stood guard waiting to search those who wanted to enter, they turned away those who were not properly dressed, Ice Man told them. Rebecca felt self-conscious as they approached; Ice Man noticed and reassured her that she was Gemini worthy.

“You see all those ladies standing along the road, they are not allowed into the premises because they are ladies of the night, plus you are with us, we’ve got you covered.”

“I thought they were waiting for a taxi!” Rebecca exclaimed.

Laughing, Ice Man asked, “All twenty something of them?! Don’t be naive. There will be a handful of them in the club; they let in just enough to add some spice to the place but not enough to taint the image of the establishment. You don’t want men grinding on each other do you?!” Lawrence and Rebecca laughed.

“If you did not have a girlfriend, I would have hooked you up.” Ice Man said nonchalantly.

Lawrence immediately wiped off the smirk on his face as Rebecca threw daggers at him with her eyes. He mouthed the word sorry to her and continued they continued the casual stroll towards the main entrance.

The bouncers were nice and let them in without any fuss, when one of the bouncers pushed open the door at the bottom of the step, the sound of loud music and a chill breeze that was a mixture of human breath, tobacco and perfume hit them hard, they walked into the dimly lit room, Ice Man leading the way. All around them, people were feeding their cravings, while some danced, there were some who were perched in corners smoking cigarettes or hookah while nursing a drink, there were those also who engaged each other in conversations, Rebecca found herself wondering how they could hear themselves over the really loud music blasting from speakers hidden out of sight. The DJ whose booth was set high above the dance floor churned out popular tune after popular tune, the crowd letting their delight known each time he switched songs. Electric was the one word that best described the atmosphere and she was enjoying every moment of it.

Before she met Lawrence, Rebecca could count on one hand the number of times she had been inside a club, it wasn’t because she was an introvert, far from it, and she was just not really attracted to the scene. She preferred the company of friends and acquaintances, yet still, she could name the clubs she had been to and the number of times she had been in them.

Gemini just went into the list of clubs Rebecca Eze had being to, she thought wryly, as Ice Man led them into the VIP booth which was perched above the dance floor, giving its occupants a bird’s eye view of happenings below. Ice Man asked for a bottle of whiskey and proceeded to light a cigarette; another reason Rebecca did not like him, for someone named Ice Man, he sure breathed a lot of fire. He always wore the lingering smell of spent fumes, something that repulsed her at the beginning but had waned after a time.

Their drink soon arrived and Rebecca poured herself a drink, which she nursed gently, while watching the people below dance and revel. A cool voice forced her to turn her attention to the VIP booth, standing just at the entrance of the booth, was a tall slender girl in a figure fitting sequined dress that stopped a few inches under the cuff of her buttocks, her full breast packed in an undersized bra causing it to appear even fuller, her slender hips ran into long gazelle like legs, ending in a flat soled shoe that looked like it cost a fortune. Seated above an equally slender neck was a pretty enough face, which she could not see given the poor lighting in the room. She walked casually to where Ice Man was seated and plopped down on his lap like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Guys lemme introduce you to my lady, Loretta. Loretta these are my peeps.” He said with a swing of the hand.

“Nice to meet you” Both Lawrence and Rebecca chorused, taking her surprisingly coarse hand one after the other in handshake.

Loretta was a free spirit and easy to get along with and in no time was chatting with Becca and Lawrence like they had been long lost friends and pretty soon she had them dancing and belting out tunes along with music blaring from the speakers. Becca had not had this much fun in a while, she could not remember the last time she had danced this hard or this long, maybe it was probably because she was on her fifth cup of whiskey. She ground against Lawrence, who was only too happy to respond in kind.

“Where your phone, lemme take a picture of you and Lawrence?” Isaac offered.

“Here it is.” Becca said pulling it out of the pocket of her figure fitting jeans. They struck pose after pose while Ice Man clicked away, Loretta joined in too, striking playful poses as her man snapped away.

“Loretta, here take the phone and take some pictures of me and them.”

“Okay.” She said and reached for the phone. It happened in a flash, just as her fingers were closing in around the phone, it dropped into the ice bucket. Ice Man clumsily tried to fish it out and finally succeeded.

“I am so sorry.” He blurted out.

“It does not matter,” Rebecca said taking the phone from him and trying to drain out as much water as possible. She could not remove her battery as this phone’s came, inbuilt. After a while of trying, she flung the phone aside and went back to dancing with Lawrence. The phone soon relegated to the back of her mind.

The rest of the night went by in a blur, the next thing she remembered was waking up next to Lawrence at the mansion fully clothed, her temple was pounding and her mouth was completely parched.

“What happened last night?” She searched herself and could not find her phone, panic rising; her eyes perused the room till it fell on her phone resting on the nightstand. She retrieved it and tried to turn it on to no avail.

“What happened to my phone? It wouldn’t not turn on” Her panicked voice rising as she shook Lawrence.

“Eh…” Lawrence opened his eyes and shut it again against the glare of the morning light. “What is it?”

“My phone has refused to turn on!”

“Oh that,” Lawrence sat up, “don’t you remember? It fell into the ice bucket at the club last night.”

“When, how, who dropped it in the water?”

“While Ice Man was using it to take pictures, it slipped and fell into the ice bucket. In fact you told him to forget about it and flung it aside. I picked it up and brought it home.”

She was now perched at the edge of the huge mattress, her face a display of befuddlement, trying to recall the night before, her head hurt her more at the effort.

“I should never have drunk so much alcohol. My parents would start to panic when they can’t reach me on the phone.” She said worried.

“Come here,” Lawrence said lifting the blanket. “Ice Man left to go get you a new phone, we would get a new SIM later in the day, and in the meantime we can use my phone to talk to your folks.”

“Aw, thanks babe. You are the best and it is mighty nice of Ice Man to offer to get me another phone.”

“He wouldn’t have to if you had heeded my advice and gotten a smaller phone, so you never get to be offline.”

“Gerout jor!!” She said turning playful from him, making sure her butt was pressed to his crotch.

Lawrence’s hand snaked its way up her body and came to rest on her breast. “What are you doing?” She asked, pulling away from him.

“Making you feel better.” He replied, his hand continuing its lazy journey into her blouse until it found flesh. She sighed as his hands fondled her breasts, slowly; she turned to face him, allowing him to cover her lips with his, her headache beginning to ebb, her phone, once again forgotten. She moaned as his wandering hands continue to traverse the vast expanse of her body. Lawrence was a great kisser and his kisses always left her light headed and breathless but she did not want him to stop, she pulled him closer, wishing they could fuse and become one. They were in the throe of passion when a knock sounded on the door, interrupting them.

Iceman poked his head out of the side of the door. “Good morning guys.” He noticed Becca’s undone blouse and the flush of her face. “Did I interrupt something?” He asked with a grin.

“Good morning, did you get the phone?” Lawrence asked with a growl.

“Yes, I placed an order for it; it should be here by noon.”

“Thank you Ice Man for offering to buy me a new phone, I really appreciate it.”

“It no problem, after all it was I who dropped it in water.”

“But still….”

“No worry, money dey, I dey expect better money soon. How much be phone?” He laughed.